Autism / Autism Spectrum Support Group

Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder which manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. Although the specific etiology of autism is unknown, many researchers suspect that autism results from genetically mediated vulnerabilities to environmental triggers.

sensory diet....DUH!

i had no idea until yesterday exactly what that means AND that the school is suppose to evaluate and provide Adam with whatever he needs to get sensory needs met, instead of having him use free time as "stim as hard and fast as you can" time! ok, anyone want to give me anything they know about this? i have no clue where to start. i know he will need eval, but what are some thing i can use for now to help little guy out, we do have pool, trampoline and swing outside, but what about for inside? wht are good sensory diet things that can be easily, inexpensively made and used to help him slow down on the stimming and how can I figure out by watching him what the sensory issue is? for example, one stim is hard, he flicks finger across face and taps it on a toy he will hold in other hand as hard and fast as he can while jumping on one foot, and another is he is ALWAYS tapping a toy, holds it in one hand and taps it hard and fast with the other hands fingers, his fingers must be tough as nails by now!

at school and a bit ion therapy, they will have him complete a task or a number of tasks in a row alternating from table-top work to work on the floor like a board game or a floor puzzle.

Then make him jump on the mini-trampoline, go for a short walk, do wall push-ups, bounce on a yoga ball etc. Sometimes all the above within a 2 minute period. Give him something like 1 gummy bear (to prevent mouthing) and like I said 2 minutes later, go right back on task.

And they do this every 30-45 minutes

It seems to make him able to concentrate on the task at hand without becoming bored. And being bored makes him either stim( and he taps too!)or engage in &quot;escape behaviour&quot; like asking for food or something out of the room they are working in.

Casen's sensory diet is the most important part of his day. If we don't jump on the trampoline by 6:30 every morning, the whole day is a disaster. We spend at least 15 minutes of every hour doing sensory activities. Actually more than that because most of his floortime involves some sensory experience. With Casen the more proprioceptive input he can get the better. After an evaluation with an occupational therapist who is certified in sensory integration you will know which sensory problems to work on first. Casen has extreme problems with proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile, olfactory, and visual. We had to focus on just a few at first. Outside play is great. Jumping on the trampoline or running helps tremendously. Oriental Trading has cheap tactile sensory toys. I have several plastic containers filled with noodles, rocks, rice, and toys with various textures. I will hide small toys in them and have Casen find them. We also play games with heavy bean bag and medicine balls. I don't know if you have a crash pad or not, but that was a miracle. I stuffed a queen size hypoallergenic mattress cover with furniture grade foam and then covered it with two sheets sewn together (I have instructions for making one if you're interested). Casen runs and jumps on it and just likes to lay on it too. We have a mini trampoline inside so he can jump if he starts getting disregulated during a floortime session. In one room we have a large mirror and baby mattresses to jump on. This room also has a swing that Casen refuses to get on. Southpaw Enterprises has great sensory equipment. Before the sensory diet, Casen was scared of everything, screamed all the time, paced the floor, blinked his eyes constantly and got up every morning at 2:00 am. He also made strange noises constantly. The only stim he has now is jumping when he gets excited. I noticed results immediately, but things also continued to improve over time. I'm not creative so I had to buy a lot of things, but most everything you need can be made. I hope this helps! Oh, just a guess on his stim: the finger across his face sounds like a visual stim mixed with proprioceptive input when tapping the toy...the jumping would definitely be proprioceptive.

yeah P. bubs has always had it. incorporated in the whole school ( as he is in a special needs school this is easier i guess).. they do hard fast rigid exercise for 15 mins at the end of each 50 minute concentrated work..... i dont think you have to worry TOO much about what part you are stimulating.it is really about getting the energy out constructively so they are able to concentrate and not feel so fidgity... the stimming may still remain though... it did for bubs, but to a lesser degree, he can now control it is social situations, for up to about 2 hours.but it is CONTROLLED and not ELIMINATED... i guess that is autism, that is what they need to do, ( i feel it is a need, compulsion,comforter,ocd, a bit of all).. cant believe they have not done this before?? it is a proven technique that aids concentration and relieves stress..... maybe WE shuld do it??!!!

One thing I forgot to mention....when we first started the sensory diet I over did it with sensory input. Hopefully Adam is not as sensitive as Casen. Within a few days he was worse than ever. He even suffered physically. His muscles were tight and he would get sweaty and pale. At first I thought he was sick, but when I touched him with a cotton ball and he screamed like it was a needle, I called his OT. She said that he had sensory overload and I had to move to a quieting diet for about a week. She was right and we started back again slowly. Also, Casen may need to swing really bad to calm himself, but if he swings for one minute too long it has the opposite effect. I have to really watch for his cues to know what and how much he needs.

A friend sent this to me..As far as I can see, grief will never truly end.It may become softer overtime, more gentleand some days will feel sharp.But grief will last as long as Love does - ForeverIt's simply the way the absence of your loved onemanifests in your heart. A deep longing accompaniedby the deepest Love some days. The heavy fog mayreturn and the next day, it may recede.Once again, it's...

Today is my 25th birthday, to my somewhat lack of surprise I can see already no one really seems to care. I've always been the kinda person to make sure that everyone I Care about feels appreciated and knew somebody had their back. I can count 4 times this year when I Went out of my way to make sure a "friend" felt good on their birthday, especially if they got left hanging. Its early in the...

All content posted on this site is the responsibility of the party posting such content.
Participation on this site by a party does not imply endorsement of any other party's content,
products, or services. Content should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.